The present invention is related to systems and methods for characterizing circuit operation, and more particularly to systems and methods for injecting noise into a data processing circuit to enhance parameter selection.
It is typical to test a storage device during manufacturing both to reject defective devices and to adjust device parameters to improve operation. This process may include, for example, writing and reading data patterns from a storage medium associated with the device. Each time an error is detected, it is determined whether the parameters governing operation of circuitry associated with the storage device may be modified to reduce the possibility of such an error. This process results in adjustment of various operational parameters.
Most of the tested devices operate at reasonably good signal to noise ratio conditions. Because of this, errors are quite infrequent requiring a long time to collect enough errors to fully characterize circuit operation. Hence, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems and methods for parameter selection.